Morro's Path - Accusation
by rideofthevalkyrjur
Summary: Four months after Wu's death, Morro is now a fully-fledged ninja. Just as things are starting to settle out, the police arrive on the doorstep with shocking news- Morro, as a former criminal, must pay for his crimes. Morro allows himself to be arrested and taken to Kryptarium prison, where a whole new set of challenges face him. Book Four of the "Morro's Path" series.
1. A New Family

**Fandom** \- Ninjago

 **Summary** \- Fourth sequel to "Corruption." Four Months after Wu's death, Morro is now a fully-fledged ninja. However, a large part of him is still getting used to his new life. Just as things are starting to settle out, the police arrive on the doorstep with shocking news- Morro, as a former criminal, must pay for his crimes. Not knowing any other way, Morro allows himself to be arrested and taken to Kryptarium prison, where a whole new set of challenges face him.

 **Rating** \- T for violence, thematic material, and some torture. No sex, no swearing.

 **Characters** \- Morro, Lloyd Garmadon, Sensei Garmadon, the Ninja, OC

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE - Earlier than expected! Hope you guys enjoy this one as much as you enjoyed the last... the plot of this one isn't completely decided, but I'm expecting this story to be about the same length as Evolution. A few things that are going to happen in this installment: Morro** ** _will_** **learn about his family. This** ** _will_** **be the first of the "Morro's Path" series to include an OC as a major character. As for other things... well, we'll just have to wait and see.**

 **-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

 **CHAPTER ONE**

 ** _A NEW FAMILY_**

Five ninja sat on benches and various pieces of training equipment in the Spinjitzu Monastery courtyard. The entire place smelled of fresh cut wood and coats of paint. In the courtyard were set up quite a few obstacles in the form of a training course, however, none of those were in use right at that moment. Rather, two other ninja stood in the center of it all, facing one another. Both were semi-transparent, one dressed in black and the other in green and grey.

"Now, the first thing you've got to do is be comfortable in your form," the smaller one stated calmly. "Know your abilities, know your limitations. You barely know anything about being a ghost, do you?" he tilted his head, raising one eyebrow slightly.

The other scowled. "That's not true. I know I can possess things, that water will kill me, and that I can walk through walls," he responded.

The first rolled his eyes. "Sure... like I said," he muttered, then leapt forward, striking the other ghost in his chest and sending him flying back into a punching bag. He hit the punching bag and slumped to the ground, groaning a little.

"What... what was that for?" he asked, glaring up at the other.

He smirked. "Oh, that? Just a test. And I was right. You're not at all comfortable. You could've gone right through that, but you didn't because you tensed for impact. And since you tensed for impact, your body responded. You put your concentration there. So you hit your head."

There was a snort and a giggle from one of the other ninja, which earned a glare from the taller ghost.

"Yeah, sure, Morro," he muttered. "I guess I don't get anything."

"And that's why I'm trying to teach you," Morro responded. "So. First of all, we're naturally intangible. Our default is to let other things pass through us, except for water and Deepstone. Water kills or burns. Deepstone is just to us like all other solids are to humans." Once the explanation was finished, he made sure the other seemed to understand, then went on. "To touch, hold, or hit things, we need to have a concentration. A lot of that concentration is simply thinking that we're solid, like what happened to you. You expected to hit the punching bag. So you hit the punching bag. Concentration can be broke by panic, or by not thinking hard enough about it. The thoughts need to be strong, you need to feel absolutely sure you're going to make contact with something."

The ghosts stood up again, and then Morro circled around him. "Now, I'm going to throw you back again, Cole. Don't hit the training equipment. Hit the mattress behind it," he explained.

"So that's why you dragged that mattress out here," Cole muttered, and then he gave a cry as Morro hit him again and he flew backwards. He slowed as he passed through the training equipment, and Morro clenched his fists. But he got through, and then hit the mattress. The other ghost grinned.

"Yeah, exactly like that," he nodded.

Cole got back up. "I'm sort of tired of getting thrown around, though... is there anything else ghosts can do besides go through things?" he asked frowning a little bit.

Morro shrugged. "Yeah, there is. A lot of different things. But you should probably learn the basics first. Still, that's enough for today. I'm kind of tired."

"Good. It's lunchtime," came Sensei Garmadon's voice as he stepped out into the training area. "Misako cooked up enough food for all of you... though I hope you've worked up quite an appetite. There's a lot." The ninja all nodded, jumping off of the training equipment and started inside, but Morro paused. "Aren't you coming inside?" he heard Garmadon say, and he hesitated for a moment before answering.

"No," he responded, brushing his fingers along the tie of his belt. "I mean... maybe later. But right now I'm... I've got something I want to do." His gaze flickered toward the gates of the monastery. At Garmadon's nod, which seemed to signify that he understood, Morro turned and walked through the gate, looking around for a moment. The last of the cherry blossoms had since fallen from the tree, and now lay scattered on the ground to join with the earth beneath. The sky above was blue with wispy white clouds, and the wind rustled the leaves gently. Morro knelt down on the ground, brushing his hand on the thin grass that had begun to grow on the ground, and then ran his finger along the headstone.

It had been nearly four months since Wu's death, and there was still a large part of Morro that could barely believe that it had actually happened. Every day, though, he was reminded of it. Now that the rebuilding of the monastery had been complete, Morro had more time on his hands to think about it. And to realize just how much he actually missed his mentor. Training Cole helped. But at the end of the day, Morro still felt an empty space inside of him that he didn't think would ever be filled. He sat down, bringing his knees to his chest and resting his chin on them, quietly.

"So you're missing lunch to sit out here, huh?"

Lloyd's voice startled Morro out of his reverie and the ghost jumped up, quickly turning around to see the green ninja standing just outside the gate of the monastery. At Morro's startled reaction, Lloyd lifted both hands in the air, taking a step back—despite everything, the two still had an awkward relationship. It had barely even been a year since Morro had first escaped the Cursed Realm. Both knew that the wariness they still occasionally felt would fade in time, but for now, it still flared up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Lloyd told him.

Morro quickly shook his head. "No... don't apologize. I'm just a little jumpy. I don't think I'll ever not be... You didn't do anything wrong," he tried, though his words didn't sound the best to his own ears. Lloyd nodded in understanding, however, so they clearly got the point across.

"Yeah, I get it," the ninja nodded, now stepping toward him. "I just wanted to come out and check on you. I mean, we can't help but notice you're still really upset, all of us... and you kind of just seem a little lost. You know, we are your family, Morro. As weird as it might be... you've paid off your debts."

Morro sighed. "Yeah, but no amount of good I do will undo what I did... and it won't bring Sensei back either."

Lloyd touched his shoulder. "I know. Come on, just... come on inside. You know he'd want you to just keep going on without him. You're a ninja now... you're one of us. And that means you eat with us, okay?"

The ghost hesitated, but then nodded. Lloyd smiled gently and turned to go inside. Morro stepped up and walked beside him back through the gates, across the training yard, and into the building and the dining room. The others were already sitting down, and Cole was on his second helping of tempura. They all looked up when the two entered, but they didn't say anything. When Morro sat down, Cole pushed a steaming cup across the table to him. Morro leaned over, looking at the liquid inside.

"Here, I kind of... made some tea for us," Cole told him, "We've still got some of our kind left, even though it's running out."

Morro nodded, and a tiny smile crept across his face. "Thanks," he muttered, sipping the tea. Before he'd died, Wu had gone through the trouble of procuring a ghost-safe tea, one that didn't burn him or Cole when they drank it. Morro didn't know how or why that happened, but it was nice—one of the things he'd missed the most about being human was tea. Ever since Wu had taken him in it was basically all he'd ever drank. Even if he could drink it, he wasn't going to drink water again after _that_ incident back in his childhood... he still felt a bit sick just thinking about it.

He quietly sipped his tea for a bit as the others conversed around him. Despite having been accepted among them, and officially one of the team, he felt distant. It was like there was just... something... keeping him from really connecting with them. He'd let his regrets go when he'd found his true potential back in the now-destroyed Anacondrai tomb and saved Lloyd's life and his own. But maybe there were still some? Hiding deep within him that he himself didn't know? Or maybe it was the fact that the ninja were so close-knit that he felt like he was intruding. And it wasn't for any exclusion on their part. They made sure to invite him to train with them, or to go flying—since Morro couldn't make a dragon of his own, he'd usually ride Lloyd's. They didn't include him in conversation so much, but that was probably because Morro spent most meals silently eating his food.

Maybe it was because he was from a completely different time. Maybe he didn't really belong in this world. Thoughts like those that had followed him in the streets of New Ninjago City began to return. What if Lloyd had been right and it wasn't his world? What if the sense of not belonging was... because he didn't really belong? Morro quickly tried his best to snap out of the depression he was slowly falling into, but it was hard. Finally, he sighed and sat up straight. He'd only drunk half of his cup of tea, and barely touched the tempura vegetables and shrimp—one of his favourite things to eat.

"Guys... I'm going to go take a nap, alright? I'm not... feeling that great." He stood up, not really waiting for an answer, and walked out of the dining room. As he left, he winced a bit—he had a bad habit of doing that, just walking out. He had to remember to try not to, but that was easier said than done. The noon sun had begun to cross the sky toward the west, and the breeze from earlier had died down so that the air was still. Morro's incorporeal feet made no sound as he crossed the courtyard to the last bit of the Monastery's original structure that was still standing. It was the part that held his bedroom, the same one he'd had for so long. Sure, the place had been repaired, but it was still the same building, complete with the burn marks on the walls and floor and supports. Morro pushed open the old door, walked down a short hallway, and then opened his bedroom door. He made to move to his bed, but then he stopped short.

His bed was gone. So were his sheets, his clothes—he'd gotten several other outfits since coming to live with the ninja—and even the small portrait of him as a young boy standing next to a much younger and very much living Wu and holding his first wooden katana. Morro looked around the room, peering into the wardrobe and the small set of drawers, but his search yielded nothing. Where were his things? What was going on?

He left the room, just walking through the wall and breaking into a jog. He didn't even think of it being awkward when he simply ran back into the dining room without even bothering to use the door. "What happened to my room?" he blurted, eyes wide as the six other ninja, Garmadon, and Misako all looked up at him simultaneously. He didn't get a reply at first, but then, Nya stood up.

"Well... we decided to... I mean, you were all the way on the other side of the monastery, all by yourself," she shrugged. "So we decided we'd change that... come on. We'll show you." They all stood up, leaving the room. Morro frowned, following. He wasn't sure how much he was going to like this idea of theirs. They walked to the second floor, where the ninja's rooms were. In the new monastery, they all sort of had their own room—it was more a cubicle, and they still shared a common area, but there was more space, and Nya's cubicle was partitioned off with a curtain.

She gestured to the far corner. There, Morro saw his own bed. A curtain hung between his bed and side-table and another, one he guessed was Lloyd's by the green comforter. Morro's face showed no real expression as he walked over and sat down on his bed. It felt the same—or, as much as it could feel the same when he was numbed to the world. He looked up at the ninja, a frown on his face. "You... moved me to your room..."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. None of us should be alone or separate from the others. We're a team, we're all a family... we all decided this together. But we should have asked you, and... we'll move your stuff back over if you want." He looked apologetic, but Morro shook his head.

"No-No it's alright," he stammered. "I-I'll stay here... I-It'll take some getting used to, but... you... you don't have to move my things back where they were..." He sat back on his bed, leaning against the wall. "I mean, this is sort of nice."

Morro wasn't completely sure how to feel about this. But for the most part, he felt happy—clearly, they cared enough about him to go through the trouble of moving his possessions over to where they all were, just so he could stay with the rest of them. Then he glanced over at Nya. "Well... Just as long as you don't decide to prank me by spraying me with water, because we know how that'll end..." he tried to chuckle, but the joke was pathetic and nobody laughed—he only earned an uncomfortable smile from Nya, and Jay briefly leaned over to whisper something in Cole's ear. The other ghost rolled his eyes, and Morro glanced away.

"Hey, Morro..." Kai cut into his thoughts. "Let's go out and do a little more training. It was fun watching you beat up Cole earlier, but I doubt you could beat me up like that."

Morro raised one eyebrow, turning to look at that. "Come on... at least make it sound like it'll be a challenge. But sure. I'll go easy on you, though. After all, you don't have the added bonus of being numb to the world, and you'll actually hit all the training equipment if I throw you back." He stood up.

"Yeah, but you won't even get that far." Kai started off at a jog down the stairs, and Morro went to take the window, but Zane suddenly stopped.

"Wait!" he called. "The falcon has just picked up something on patrol... a group of Serpentine are attacking Jamanakai Village."

Jay groaned. "Aw man! What is it with those snakes and that town?" he asked, sighing. Zane shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, but we'd better go find out." He turned and went down the stairs. The rest of the ninja followed him. They stopped briefly in the dining room to let Misako and Garmadon know where they were going. Lloyd lingered back, giving each of his parents a tight hug, and then waved farewell, coming to stand next to Morro. He quickly summoned his energy dragon and turned to the ghost.

"Come on, Morro," he jumped on, and Morro gave a sigh and climbed on behind him. "Don't worry, you'll figure out how to unlock your own dragon someday," Lloyd assured him. Morro wasn't so certain. After all, wasn't a dragon unlocked by facing your fears and accepting them? And Morro wasn't afraid of anything. So how could he accept his fears? He wasn't sure he'd ever find out how to do it. Of course, for right now there were more important things.

Like the Serpentine. Serpentine that Morro was pretty sure he and Lloyd had seen before, if he had to guess.


	2. Cleaning up Remnants

**CHAPTER TWO**

 ** _CLEANING UP REMNANTS_**

It was like they wanted to be eradicated or something. As though the ninja would so much as give these rogue Serpentine a chance to keep on doing whatever dirty business they were up to now. They'd explained to Morro that most of the Serpentine had been reformed and now lived peacefully among the rest of Ninjago's citizens. For something like this to happen was just about unheard of. But Morro and Lloyd both knew that there had been more than just Pythor in that old tomb. He'd had some friends and followers—and the ninja were almost certain that it was these friends and followers of Pythor who were mounting the attack now.

By the time they arrived, it seemed that the snakes had already taken several villagers hostage, holding them back with weapons. Some seemed frantic—venomari spit, clearly shown by the color of their eyes and their dazed expressions. Morro licked his lips briefly, looking down at the scene. The snakes were looting several houses, while about five had cornered nearly a dozen villagers, some children. They held them back, threatening them, and yet they seemed rather unfocused, looking more closely at the looting going on around them than at their prisoners. Morro pressed his lips together thoughtfully.

"If they see you coming they'll threaten their hostages," Morro whispered into Lloyd's ear. "I'll take care of them, you and the others don't draw too much attention to yourselves."

A swift glance at the power dragons told Morro that that wasn't exactly going to be easy, so the ghost needed to act quickly. He jumped off of Lloyd's dragon and turned invisible, landing lightly on the ground. He paused only for a second as he approached the Serpentine that were holding the villagers hostage, and then quickly possessed one of the swords, ripping it out of the snake's hand and using it to attack the others, slicing and cutting at them. Then he crumbled it into a worthless chunk of scrap metal before proceeding to do the same with the rest of the Serpentine's weapons. The snakes, needless to say, panicked, and Morro released the last crumbled blade, allowing himself to become visible again. His plan was to help the villagers to safety, but evidently, he'd miscalculated.

There was no relief in their eyes or voices when he reappeared. They drew back, seeming to be frightened, even the ones that weren't affected by the Venomari spit. Morro took a step back, holding up his hands a little. He felt a pang in his gut. Could they tell who he was? Were some of them from Stiix, had they lost their homes because of him? Or had they lost friends and family because of what he'd done?

Before Morro's mind went too far down that path, Cole grabbed his shoulder. "Hey, Windy. Come on, we'll take care of the snakes. Kai and Nya will get these guys to safety," he said, pulling Morro away. The other ghost nodded, and the pair used Spinjitzu to take out a number of the looting snakes. The good thing was that there weren't that many, probably less than twenty total. Pythor clearly hadn't been the most well-liked. Morro practically shivered just thinking about him and the things he'd done... and how he'd killed Wu. Morro knew that he'd killed Pythor when he'd unlocked his true potential. And in reality, he didn't regret it at all. Pythor deserved what he got—and so did these snakes. After slamming one against the ground with Spinjitzu, Morro struck it hard in a pressure point on its shoulders. The snake instantly went stiff, dead or paralyzed.

There weren't many of them, but the snakes put up a valiant fight. Valiant, but useless. The ninja were superior fighters, and before long many of the snakes had been thrown off the mountainside. The rest were slowly being backed against the side of the cliff. The siblings had finished getting the villagers to safety and had joined the rest of them, and now all seven ninja had cornered the remaining Serpentine. There were about five left, and they were unable to move from the place against the Cliffside. To try to escape would be excessively foolish on their part, and it seemed like they knew that.

"Do you surrender?" Lloyd asked, a humming sphere of energy forming between his palms. He narrowed his eyes, taking a step toward the snakes.

The snakes pressed themselves back, some frantically nodding, others trying to back up and panicking to get away. It was close enough to a surrender, and Lloyd lowered his hands. "Nya, get in touch with the police. They'll want to get these guys safely locked away."

Nya nodded, then took a step back, using her communicator to contact the police department. Morro watched her for a moment. All of the new inventions were just about mind-blowing. He'd never have imagined that people would be able to talk over such a distance, let alone all of the other inventions that had sprung up over the last forty-some years. However, it only caught his interest for a moment. Rather, he paid more attention to the snakes that they had cornered, watching them closely to make sure that they didn't try to escape somehow.

The snakes continued looking nervously at the ninja, but none of them tried to fight. It was a wise choice—Morro wouldn't have hesitated to kill anyone that tried to flee. He was upset enough over what Pythor had done, though he tried to tell himself that the Anacondrai's underlings may have not even had a part in it. They'd been there—that was enough.

Still, it wasn't too long before the sounds of sirens could be heard, and four police cars drove up, stopping only a few feet away from the ninja and their prisoners. As the officers got out of the cars, the ninja parted to give access to the snakes. One by one, they were handcuffed, and taken back to the police cars, pushed into the back seat and locked in. After the snakes were secure, one of the officers stepped out.

"Thank you, ninja, thanks to you, Ninjago is safe once again." he said, with a dip of his head.

"You're welcome," Lloyd told him, returning his gesture. The other six did the same, and the officer turned to start back toward the parked cars with their blaring sirens. Morro watched him go, tilting his head slightly to one side. The officer looked back for a brief moment, and his eyes locked on the ghost's. It was just a few seconds, but for that length of time, Morro felt like he was frozen in place... there was something in that man's eyes. Or maybe Morro was just seeing things. The officer didn't say anything, and simply got back into his car.

One by one, their engines started, and they drove away, carrying the snakes off to prison for the rest of their days. Morro shivered and rolled his shoulders out, turning to the others. Lloyd also looked between them. "Well, I guess our work here is done," he said with a shrug. "We'd better get back to the monastery and tell Dad that everything's taken care of.

The rest of them nodded, Morro's gaze flickering toward the sky for a moment. This had been one of the first times he'd really fought alongside the ninja. Briefly, he wondered if Wu was proud of him, wherever he was and whatever he was doing. The thought passed after a moment, and Morro climbed onto the back of Lloyd's dragon after the green ninja summoned it, taking Lloyd's shoulders. He couldn't help but smile a little bit as Lloyd didn't so much as flinch at his touch. They were still sometimes on edge around one another, but it was definitely getting better and better. Maybe they really were a team, and Morro really did belong here.

Lloyd's dragon took off into the sky, and the ninja headed home. The ride was quiet—they were all tired. In a few minutes, they reached the monastery, one by one landing in the courtyard and letting their dragons vanish. Lloyd landed first, and he and Morro jumped off one after the other before Lloyd started inside and Morro followed him. The other ninja had joined them before they even reached the door. Garmadon met them as soon as they arrived.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"Great," Lloyd responded.

"Yeah, we stopped those snakes from causing trouble once and for all," Kai replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "They're safely on their way to Kryptarium now."

Garmadon nodded. "Good. Now, you'd all better go and shower—except for Morro and Cole of course. I'm sure you got dirty while you were fighting." The ninja nodded, hurrying off and leaving the two ghosts in the entrance. Cole and Morro looked at one another, and then Cole shrugged.

"Well... how about that rematch?" he asked.

Morro smirked. "Oh, sure. Let's go." They turned back to the training yard, and Morro floated upward, landing lightly on top of a punching bag. Cole looked up at him, and Morro looked down at the bag. "You'll need to keep consistent control over your tangibility, and that means keeping yourself tangible too. So you're basically going to work with this punching bag for the next five minutes. Except... every time your hand or foot goes through it and doesn't make contact, you've got to add another minute to that. I'll keep track of time, hold on." He hopped down again, running off for a stopwatch and bringing it back. "Alright. Go."

Cole paused a moment, and then started with the bag, punching and kicking it. Morro looked down at the watch and started it. He made sure to keep an eye on Cole, subtly adding a minute every time, even if Cole made no sign that he realized he'd lost contact with the bag. After around six minutes, Cole stopped, panting and resting his hands on his knees. Morro paused the stopwatch, tilting his head to one side.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "You've still got ten minutes left."

Cole gave him an incredulous look. "What?" he asked, voice strained. "But... you said five!"

"And you lost contact a bunch of times. So ten more minutes," Morro replied with a smirk, perching lightly on top of another piece of equipment. Cole groaned, and turned back to the punching bag. However, it only went on for a short time as the bell at the gate rang. Cole stopped abruptly, looking towards Morro. He shrugged one shoulder.

"Should we... answer that?" he asked, gesturing. "It's probably just the mailman."

Morro tilted his head. "Sure, I don't see why not. Maybe we could give him a bit of a scare." It was a little mean—that man only wanted to do his job. But he was fun to pick on, and Morro knew it was virtually harmless. Most people were afraid of ghosts... maybe that's all that the officer's look was about. Maybe Morro being a ghost startled him, and he had to admit he had a bit of a different look to him than Cole did. Subconsciously he rubbed the darkened markings around his eyes. Morro still wondered how exactly he'd gotten those.

The two ghosts walked toward the gate, and Cole opened it up, pulling it open to allow entrance. "Hi, sorry for the wait. What did you..."

He stopped immediately. Four police officers simply stepped inside of the monastery and walked right past Cole. Morro stepped back, unease clouding his features, but one officer nodded his head toward him and they all approached, two in front and the other two to either side and slightly back. The lead officer—who Morro recognized as the same one from Jamanakai Village—pulled a slip of paper out. "You're Morro, aren't you?" he asked.

The ghost swallowed, and gave a brief and shaky nod. What was all this about, why were they here, what were they doing? "Y-yeah... I'm Morro," he responded.

The officer showed him the paper, but it wasn't much help to Morro, who couldn't read most of the words. "Good. Because we have a warrant for your arrest."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be_ _Continued..._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **thearomanticninja -** Yes. Getting ideas for fics is always good.

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** I honestly don't know but they are. -shrugs helplessly-

 **Purplecatlover93 -** I can't tell you that :P

 **Zena1421 -** Yeee

 **TheAmberShadow -** Yeah. That's basically the story's theme.

 **Anonymous7 -** Not for awhile. I have a designated point in the series' plotline though. His will take a while to unlock simply because of the way he is about fear.

 **Morro and More -** Thanku! He's starting to fit in, yes. And he's also not the best teacher. But oh dear... what's this? XD

 **DerpiestDangDiamond -** He's such an awkward thing tho. And doesn't know how to Normal Person.


	3. The Officer and the Gatekeeper

**CHAPTER THREE**

 ** _THE OFFICER AND THE GATEKEEPER_**

Morro's entire being seemed to have been enveloped in a state of shock as the officer's words sunk in. An arrest warrant... but why? He swallowed hard, looking up at the man, who stood at least a head taller than him. He wanted to say something, but his throat felt dry, tightening up as he took one step back. "But... what have I done? I know... I know I did things in the past but... I'm trying to make it right," he finally choked out, voice cracking as he spoke. "I'm... I'm a ninja now... I'm helping people..."

The man shook his head. "Nothing you could possibly do would be able to make it right. The only way things will be made right is if you're locked up, and locked up for good." He approached Morro, who continued to shrink back, eyeing the cuffs the man had attached to his belt. They were made of a dark, grainy metal—it was definitely vengestone. Morro remembered what it had been like to have his powers muted, and wasn't too keen on feeling like that again. With each step the officer took, Morro took another step back until finally he was pressed against the wall of the monastery.

"Please don't... I don't want to be arrested. I-I know now that what I did was wrong, I'll never be able to prove that I've mended my ways if you lock me up..." Morro pleaded, closing his eyes. The officer stopped advancing, and Morro heard footsteps crossing the courtyard. Quickly, he looked up to see Garmadon and Lloyd approaching, both seeming concerned.

"What's going on?" Lloyd spoke up, lightly pushing the officer's arm aside to stand next to Morro. The ghost looked up at him, feeling himself relax just a little bit—he'd barely been a part of the team for four months, and he already felt himself beginning to rely on the others a little. It wasn't half as bad as he'd thought it would be. At least now, he had someone to stand by him and defend him. Morro watched as the officer took the paper and held it out for Lloyd to see.

"I have a warrant for the arrest of Morro," he spoke up, gesturing at the ghost, who had calmed down. Morro flinched a little as the attention was directed back toward him. He hoped that Lloyd and Garmadon would be able to talk the officer out of this before anything truly horrible happened.

Lloyd frowned deeply as he read over the paper, and Morro tried once again to read it, but he was still unable to. Then the green ninja looked up. "This is silly," he replied. "What happened in Stiix was a year ago... Besides, Morro fought on our side during the battle. He shouldn't get arrested for that." He tipped his head to one side, clearly trying to reason with the officer, but the man was having absolutely none of it.

He snatched the paper away from Lloyd and gave the green ninja a hard look. "If it weren't for him, none of it would have happened at all. Besides, a year isn't that long when you consider that the city is still in ruins and the destruction will probably take decades to undo. Besides, how do you know he's not going to turn on you?" The man stalked forward a little bit. "You'd think that you, Lloyd, would be the most likely to want him locked up... after all he did to you..."

Lloyd instantly seemed to harden. "That's enough," he hissed sharply. "I've forgiven Morro. Yeah, he hurt me, and I don't think I'm ever going to forget that. But he saved my life too, and we're all he has left. There's no reason for him to turn on us. Yeah, maybe I'd want him locked up if it were someone else, but I know him way, way better than you do and I know that most of what he did was because of pain, not because Morro was evil."

Morro had shut his eyes. He hated being reminded of what he'd done to Lloyd—he'd accepted it, and it was in the past, but still... every time he heard someone talking about it, or was otherwise reminded of what he'd done to Lloyd, he felt guilt welling up inside of him.

"Your forgiveness of him is great, but that doesn't change the fact that I've got an arrest warrant right here, and this ghost needs to pay for his crimes against Ninjago," the officer remarked stubbornly.

The ghost's gaze was slowly lowering toward the ground. It was clear that Lloyd wasn't going to change this officer's mind. And if he went on fighting it, Morro knew that it would put the ninja and the police at odds with one another. As Lloyd made to speak up again, Morro put a hand out in front of him, stopping him. "No, Lloyd... just... just stop. You're not going to accomplish anything like this... I... I just have to go." He looked up at the officer and took a step forward, lifting his hands. "I'll let you take me," he murmured quietly.

"Morro, what are you doing?" Lloyd's eyes widened as the smaller ghost let the officer slip the cuffs around his wrists.

Morro swallowed, shuddering as he felt the vengestone around his wrists. He looked at Lloyd. "I'm... I'm just going to go, and serve my time... then I'll be released and we won't have to worry about this ever again," he whispered, voice cracking a bit.

Lloyd still seemed shocked, and he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Morro's shoulders, giving him a tight hug. "Al-alright... but... we'll get you out. We're going to get you out as soon as we can, okay?"

"Y-yeah... thanks," Morro managed a faint smile, but it faded as soon as he felt a tug on the cuffs.

"Come on," the officer snapped. "They can arrange to visit you in Kryptarium. Time to go."

Lloyd released his hold, a little reluctantly, and Morro walked along with the officer. The rest of the ninja had gathered and watched in silence as Morro was directed through the gates of the monastery, his steps hesitant, his gaze on the ground. He said nothing, and didn't even look up, the whole way down the stairs, and simply stepped into the police car. He'd go quietly, he wouldn't resist... resistance would only make the situation worse. Morro had to be a good prisoner, or he'd never get out. Trying to escape could only hurt him, and the ninja. He repeated this over and over in his own mind, desperately trying to suppress his natural urge to fight back and try to run. He was barely able to stay calm until the door finally shut behind him. Then, he quickly curled his knees against his chest and tucked his chin, hair falling in front of his face.

The officer got into the driver's seat, and another into the passenger's seat. The first looked back into the backseat, and gave a snort. "Nice of you to ease their worries. You're never getting out of Kryptarium," he told Morro. "We'll make sure you never see the outside of the walls again."

Morro felt a knot of cold dread deep inside of him and he gave a little shake of his head. The guard couldn't be telling the truth. He had to be trying to scare him... Morro couldn't be locked up forever. Not now when he'd just become a ninja, when he'd just found his true potential, when he'd just started to become a part of that crazy family that used to be his enemies. And yet there was still this nagging worry that the officer wasn't lying. That Morro really wouldn't see the outside of the prison walls again. Morro didn't move in the back of the car. His head remained on his knees, arms wrapped around folded legs. Once in a while he felt the officer's hard gaze on him, but he didn't look up.

Finally, there was a massive creaking sound. Morro didn't even need to look to know that it was Kryptarium's gates, but he looked anyway. They rose up, opening into what looked like a yawning black hole. Into this hole the police car drove, and appeared on the inside of a high, walled courtyard. Morro shivered as the car finally came to a halt. The officer glanced back at him before getting out and opening the door, pulling Morro along by the vengestone handcuffs. "Come on, you."

The ghost simply followed, a miserable expression on his face. He wanted to resist, to somehow try to escape, but he knew it would be useless now. So he didn't bother fighting back and followed the taller officer. He was brought a little ways from the car, where he was handed off to what was presumably one of the prison guards, who looked him over once.

"Are you sure this is the one that almost destroyed Ninjago?" he asked, tilting his head to one side. "He really doesn't look like much."

And Morro didn't. He was thin, small-built, standing there in his ninja gi and looking meekly toward the ground with his shoulder-length black hair falling into his face. He looked rather innocent and helpless, little more than a child—which was the truth. But a gruff voice from the shadows responded.

"Looks can be deceiving."

Morro heard heavy footsteps approaching and then a hand jerked his head up roughly by the hair. "This is the same ghost. He doesn't look like much, but whatever evil is inside him makes him vicious. Don't treat him lightly." The man that had grabbed him was even taller than the first, nearly a foot above Morro's own height, and had burly muscles and a little bit of stubble on his chin. He was gruff looking, and the sight of him made Morro flinch away a bit.

The ghost knew his type all too well. Hard men, used to muscling their way into anything they might happen to want, getting their way by brute force and usually bullying those weaker than themselves. Morro had encountered more than a few of them during his childhood, and none of those memories had been good. He said nothing, merely trying to avoid eye contact with the man until his hair was released and he could drop his head again. "I'll take him off your hands, get him settled in."

Without another word, the man had grabbed the links of his cuffs and started pulling him forward, into the massive armoured doors of the prison. Morro continued to look away, keeping his eyes shut and simply allowing himself to be led off. Luckily he had good reflexes, or else he would have tripped several times when the cuffs were jerked. The big man said nothing until they got to a room marked "processing" The guard pushed Morro through the door.

A tight-lipped woman with her hair pulled flat back against her head looked up from her desk as Morro entered.

"Find a set of clothes on those shelves over there that fit you. Then go into that room there and leave everything you have on now." She beckoned to him, and took hold of the cuffs, loosening one side of the links but leaving the vengestone around his wrists. Then she pushed him toward the shelves of striped prison clothes. Morro flipped dismally through them before finding one of the smallest sets and taking it into the tiny changing room. It was only a few feet wide and a few feet deep. Sighing softly, he pulled his shirt and vest over his head, holding them out to stare for a few moments before folding them neatly and placing them on the floor in the corner. Once again, he was no longer a ninja, but a prisoner. Morro pulled the shirt over his head and was grateful to be a ghost for once—he was sure this shirt was scratchy and uncomfortable, and was glad not to be able to feel it. Next came the pants, probably equally uncomfortable, and he left his feet bare.

Morro was about to go to the door, but he couldn't so much as reach for the handle. His hands were shaking, and moments later his knees gave way and he collapsed, sinking against the wall and sobbing into his arms. He cried for a few minutes before falling silent and staying there, curled up. For a few minutes he had peace and quiet, enough to almost calm himself down through deep breathing techniques, and then there came a banging on the door.

"Time's up!"

He jolted a little at the suddenness of it, but got to his feet, hand lingering over the embroidery on his gi for a moment before he finally opened the door and stepped out. The hard-faced woman pointed to the center of the room. "Stand there, turn one circle." She instructed, and Morro did as she said. "Now stay still."

Morro sucked in a breath as the woman started to roughly pat him down. When she found nothing, she took a card with a little writing on it and pointed to the wall. "Stand there, and hold the sign up." She pushed him, and Morro stepped back against the wall, a little confused.

There were a few quick flashes, which made him wince a little. It was like when the librarians had wanted... what had they called it? He couldn't quite remember. But brighter, and more irritating. She grabbed his hand, then frowned. "Guess there's no fingerprinting a ghost." With that, the links were hooked back onto his cuffs and he was pushed back to the door, and handed over to the guard. The next few seconds passed in a confused blur, as Morro was still a little dazed from the flashing.

Finally he regained a stable footing as the guard brought him through the halls.

"C-could you not pull so h-hard? I'm c-coming," he managed, which only got him another jerk on his cuffs which threatened to send him sprawling.

"You think you'll get what you want from me? I don't think so, ghost," the man spat. "You're an inmate now. You're nobody special. You're lower than dirt itself. Bet you've never felt that, huh? Bet you've never worried about the consequences your actions might have."

"Actually, even though you might not think so, I have felt that way for most of my life, but I've learned that you're only lower than dirt if you let yourself believe that," Morro responded, a hint of confidence creeping back into his voice. He wouldn't fight. But he wouldn't let them destroy them—clearly already this was what that man wanted to do.

His words brought a low growl to the guard's throat. "Whatever, you'll let go of that stupid philosophy soon enough here. There is no hope in Kryptarium prison. No one will ever escape."

A set of doors unlocked and slid open, and Morro gasped slightly as he was pulled into a hall of cells, where various prisoners came and looked out of the bars, all staring at Morro, who did his best to straighten up, but shrunk back a little as one of the prisoners banged against the bars, jeering at him. The others soon joined in, and the guard laughed.

"Oh, don't worry. You won't be with these guys... you're going to be with them." He pushed open another door, and pushed Morro through that, then locked the door behind him. Morro's heart sank. There were even more cells here, and the prisoners looked considerably more mean and dangerous. "For someone who almost destroyed Ninago, basically a mass murderer, we figured it'd be good to put you in the center of the prison, where the worst of the worst go." He stopped, took Morro by the shoulders, and then turned him around. "Because that's what you are," he poked Morro in the chest, but his finger went through Morro's immaterial body. The ghost gave a smirk, the guard growled, and then he continued dragging Morro down the halls.

"You won't be laughing too long. Nobody's going to be too fond of you in here." He stopped in front of a cell and unlocked it with a key. It was small, the little cot taking up half of the space. The guard shoved Morro inside, then shut and locked the door. This cell had no bars, except for a small window in the door, and as soon as the guard shut it behind him, Morro found himself in almost pure blackness. The guard snorted. "Well, here you are. Welcome to solitary... course, you won't be in solitary at mealtimes, but while you're not being watched constantly you get to stay in here, alone. Wouldn't want you hurting anyone, you know? Enjoy your stay."

His head vanished from the little window. Morro heard his footsteps retreating. Then he lowered himself to the cot, looking around the tiny chamber. It was going to be his home for the next who-knows-how-long.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be Continued..._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ahh I'm sorry it's been so long since I updated! I've been busy finishing up my last paper, and getting ready for finals. In the next few weeks summer is here, though, so updates may be faster. Definitely will be faster than the last update.**

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **Zena 1421 -** That's cuz it isn't good.

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** He does. He just prefers not to wear it because he's a dork (also secretly because he likes showing off the green in his hair tbh vain smol) but yeah. That's a pretty idiotic move. -bops Morro-

 **Morro and More -** Yeah, would be. Unless he's being a butt, then it'd be 'blowhard' like Lloyd uses in Curse World part 2.

 **TheAmberShadow -** She is an OC. But an interesting one for reasons.

 **Anonymous7 -** He has gone through a lot, hasn't he? Maybe I should give him a break... hm... nah.

 **DemigodElfNinjaPony -** Same, but no worries. My number of OCs is usually pretty limited because the ones I do have I want to put a lot of thought into them and develop them well. As far as I can tell, this character isn't a Sue. She's pretty interesting, but can't say why yet.

 **Guest -** Thanks! (Also if this is the same guess, sorry for so long a wait also)

 **Nagasha -** I mean he was being a hero. Guess he figured that should cover anything. Guess he was also wrong.

 **thearomanticninja -** He did! So there's at least that he can remember while being absolutely miserable.

 **MLGbilcipher89 -** Most likely he'll survive, I mean I've got two more books plotted after that... He's not in that much real peril. That's why I include plot twists though. Basically, Morro's life (which he kinda doesn't have anyway) isn't at stake. It's more his sanity... yeah.

 **Purplecatlover93 -** Of course you will. She's a kind of important character in the story (important enough to be on the cover at least). Crucial to the undercurrent plot (the main emotional-ish character development plot, not the whole thing with Morro going to prison).


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